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Ex-World leaders urge UN to define terror
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-10 21:23
Former world leaders appealed to the United Nations on Thursday to come up
with a definition of terrorism, arguing that political aims should never be used
as an excuse to kill innocent civilians.
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| Former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
listens to France's former Foreign Minister Hubert
Vedrine, left, speaking on the future of trans-Atlantic relations during a
work meeting of the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and
Security Wednesday, March 9 2005, in Madrid, Spain.
[Reuters] | The issue of a definition has
long been one of the most delicate, in part because governments often use
violence to accomplish goals. But delegates to a four-day conference here on
terrorism suggested that drawing up a simple concept with international
consensus would be the first step in averting more attacks.
"There is no cause under the sun that could justify the deliberate killing of
civilians," said Anand Panyarachun, former prime minister of Thailand. "The
killing of civilians is unjustified under any circumstance."
The United Nations has long struggled with this issue, lacking agreement on
just what constitutes terrorism. Some states want one to exempt "freedom
fighters," while others insist any definition must cover governments and their
soldiers.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict typifies the dilemma in coming up with a
definition. The Palestinians have argued, for example, they are justified in
resisting Israel's military occupation by using suicide bombs against civilians
while the Israelis say such tactics are unacceptable.
However, delegates insist that having a common understanding on what
terrorism is would permit the United Nations and other world bodies to fight it
jointly and help create laws that would allow for prosecution of the
perpetrators.
During a panel debate, Amre Moussa, secretary-general of the League of Arab
States, did not argue against creating a definition, as long as the United
Nations was involved. But he stressed that counterterrorism efforts should focus
more on the causes of extremist violence.
"The issue is not that simple," he said.
The discussion came only hours before U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was
set to deliver a key policy speech before dozens of terrorism experts and former
world leaders.
Annan's address is expected to be the highlight of the
session, which was timed to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Madrid
train bombings. The attack, believed to have been carried out by Islamic
extremists, killed 191 people and injured more than 1,500.
"We live in one world and the issue of terrorism affects us all," Annan said
after meeting Spain's prime minister. "When the people of Madrid are hit or
people in New York are hit, it does have an effect on all of us."
Annan said he wanted to express solidarity with the victims of the Madrid
attack and to affirm the United Nation's determination to work with governments
and people around the world to try to prevent such bloodshed.
He and other world leaders and experts attending the summit here on
democracy, terrorism and security are grappling with ways to combat violence
without jeopardizing human rights.
The experts have begun offering their recommendations ahead of Friday's final
session. In one key area — financing terrorism — experts urged world leaders to
create an international institution under U.N. auspices to track the elusive
methods terrorists use to raise money.
The draft recommendation said measures undertaken so far to curb terrorist
financing were insufficient to cut the flow of funds to al-Qaida and other
international terrorist groups.
Foreign policy experts warned that nations must join together to fight
terrorism — rather than letting differences of opinion weaken their resolve. As
a first step, the United Nations must step forward to take the lead, delegates
said.
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